The present invention relates to a notcher and a method of its use in a continuous processing line, pickling line, or a cold rolling mill for rolling metallic strip. More particularly, it concerns a rotary notcher for cutting a portion along opposed longitudinal edges of a strip in a smooth, continuous fashion in the vicinity of a welded seam between two joined strips.
Notching two joined strips along its welded seam while travelling through a continuous processing line is common practice, and is performed to smooth out the edges of the welded area in order to eliminate or decrease the possibility of rough spots from snagging and damaging the equipment through which the strip subsequently passes and also to eliminate projecting corners where required to welded strip of different widths.
Conventional apparatuses for forming a notch inward along the longitudinal edges of a welded seam between two joined horizontal strips employ what is commonly referred to as a "wing" notcher, the "wing" notcher consists of two edge notching units each located transversely across from each other between which the strip passes. Each notching unit is positioned remotely away from the strip as the strip travels through the line, and for the notching operation the strip is completely stopped and the notching units are brought towards each other to the longitudinal edges of the strip. Each notching unit has a cylinder operated head carrying a die punching mechanism which punches cut a predetermined configuration along the seam weld.
For its operation, the notching units of these conventional apparatuses are moved in toward the edges of the strip. The strip, upon leaving the welder, is stopped when the welded seam of the joined strip runs parallel to the two notching units. The die carrying head is moved vertically toward the horizontal surface of the strip for the notching process; after which time, each unit is then moved away from the strip in preparation for the strip's continued travel through the line. It will be appreciated that the requirement for stopping the strip results in considerable downtime and production loss of the line.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method of operation for cutting out an area along a longitudinal edge of a moving product without interrupting its travel making a notch in the product on the fly which results in increased production in the line.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus in a continuous metallic strip processing line located downstream from a welding apparatus for decreasing the total welding time for two strips and the notching time necessary for present day notching apparatuses, thereby requiring a less extensive accumulator storage facility especially when using an arc welder.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary strip notcher in a continuous strip processing line for allowing the strip to accelerate in the line after the welding of two joined strips, and upon the welded seam performed by an arc welder and approaching the rotary notcher, cutting out a smooth continuous curve along the longitudinal edges of the seam which had not been previously welded together.
And still a further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for shearing and removing a predetermined portion along at least one longitudinal edge of a travelling metallic material, comprising drum means located along said one longitudinal edge and comprising at least two spaced-apart cooperative and rotatable drums, each having an axis of rotation and between which said edge of said material passes, means for cantileverly mounting said drums transversely relative to said material in a manner their axis is in alignment relative to each other in a vertical plane and for retaining said drums in a shearing and non-shearing relationship with said material, said drums having cooperative arcuate surface areas and cooperative flat surface areas, arcuate knife means mounted on said arcuate surfaces of said drums constructed and arranged in a manner to give a predetermined edge cut having a slope between the beginning and end of the edge cut that will be a continuous radius and of a desired length and depth, and means for synchronously rotating said drum means in relation to said travelling material, including means for controlling the rotation of said drum means constructed in a manner so that in said inoperative mode said flat surface areas of said two drums oppose and are fixedly held adjacent each other so as not to be contacted by said travelling material, and in an operative mode said two drums commence to rotate in opposite directions but in the same direction of the travel of the material to bring said arcuate knife means on said each drum together in a cooperative contacting relationship with said material to effect said shearing and removing of said predetermined portion in said material.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated and understood when the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof is read along with the accompanying drawings of which: